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Uncle Henry
The Kansas Farmer The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900.) Uncle Henry is a fictional character invented by L. Frank He is introduced in Baum's first Oz book titled 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz', published in 1900. Henry is the old Uncle of Dorothy Gale and husband of Aunt Em, and lived with them on a rather small and very poor farm in Kansas. In Baum's later Oz books, he and his wife eventually abandoned their farm forever and moved to the magical Land of Oz with Dorothy and little Toto. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. History Baum portrayed Uncle Henry to be an all American red neck man that worked hard for what little he had. Henry mortgaged his farm in order to rebuild. This crisis, combined with the stress of Dorothy's prolonged disappearance and sudden reappearance, took a toll on his health, and his doctor ordered him to take a vacation. He took Dorothy with him on an ocean voyage to Australia, where he had cousins, but during this trip Dorothy was lost again during a storm, and for several weeks Henry believed she had drowned. She suddenly returned again, courtesy of the Nome King's Magic Belt (Ozma of Oz). On their return to America, Henry visited Bill Hugson, a relative of his wife, while Dorothy stayed with friends in San Francisco. While traveling to meet him, Dorothy was lost in an earthquake and thought to be dead. Henry traveled back to Kansas alone, where Dorothy later reappeared after having enjoyed another adventure to the Land of Oz. (Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz) Eventually, the cost of the cyclone damage and the travel expenses added up. Henry and Em confessed to Dorothy the extent of their financial problems, and revealed to her that their farm was on the verge of foreclosure. Dorothy solved this problem for them by bringing them to live with her in the Emerald City, as permanent guests of Princess Ozma. They were given a suite of rooms in the Royal Palace of Oz and Henry was given the job of "Keeper of the Jewels" in Ozma's treasure hoard for the purpose of keeping him occupied. (The Emerald City of Oz) Book Appearances * The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (first appearance) * Ozma of Oz * Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz * The Emerald City of Oz * The Patchwork Girl of Oz * The Scarecrow of Oz * The Tin Woodman of Oz (mentioned) * The Magic of Oz * Glinda of Oz * The Royal Book of Oz (brief mention) * Grampa in Oz (mentioned) * The Scalawagons of Oz Background Uncle Henry has been featured slightly more than Aunt Em in the Oz books, despite being less featured than Auntie Em in the movie version of The Wizard of Oz. Other media Frank Alexander portrayed him as a villain in Larry Semon's 1925 Wizard of Oz film. In MGM's musical adaptation The Wizard of Oz, Uncle Henry is played by Charley Grapewin. He was played by David Alan Grier in the ABC made-for-television movie The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005). In the VeggieTales episode "The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's", both Uncle Henry and his wife Aunt Em were substituted by a father (Dad Asparagus) to retell "The Prodigal Son", a biblical parable from the Gospel. In the American television program Lost, there is a character named Benjamin Linus who told survivors his name was Henry Gale and claimed to have arrived on the island via hot air balloon. Category:Oz Book Characters Category:Oz Movie Characters Category:American Visitors to Oz